The Raptors will send assistant general manager Maurizio Gherardini to Lithuanua this month to begin working with Valanciunas.

Lietuvos Rytas, for its part, has been open to the Raptors’ involvement with Valanciunas. “They were pretty clear during the discussions, prior to the lockout, that there was some reluctance obviously to us having any kind of input or presence, basketball-wise,” Colangelo said. “But they had no problem with the other aspects of things. Anything we could be doing to help him, to supplement some of what he was already doing to have him ready for the next step, they had no problem with it. You don’t want to put yourself in a position where there is any kind of animosity from the team toward the NBA club. They might see it as interference, and we have been careful not to do that. We just want him to be as developed as he can when he comes.”